The Roswell Diaries
by icybluegoddessfarie
Summary: Yugi Motou had lived in Roswell New Mexico all his life with only one crush on the mysterious Atem Yami and two best friends Malik and Ryou, and had every intention of leaving after high school. But will one fateful day at his family's diner change that?
1. Prolouge: Explaination

Prologue/Character List:

Hello, and welcome to my first crossover story. I'm going to be placing the Yugioh characters into the Roswell plot line just to see where it takes me. Oh, and in case you didn't know, Roswell was a scifi novel based TV show that ended in 2000 or so, so don't be surprised if you've never heard of or seen in before. But just in case you have, these are the character switches I'm making:

Liz Parker: Yugi Motou

Maria DeLuca: Malik Unson (made up on the spot…)

Alex Whitman: Ryou Marz (made up names suck… I know…)

Max Evens: Atem Yami

Isabel Evens: Bakura Yami (Yami's are adopted as siblings, but don't look alike)

Michael Guerin: Marick Alger (again…name made up on the spot…don't shoot me…)

Sheriff Valenti: Seto Kaiba

Kyle Valenti: Mokuba Kaiba (Mokuba is adopted in this story too)

Yugi's Parents: Solomon Motou and Heidi Motou

Malik's mom: Doris Unson

The Yami's Parents: Mark Yami and Allison Yami

Marik's Dad: Bobby Alger

People who won't come until later in the story:

Tess Harding: Tea Mazaki

Nasedo: Pegasus (Last name unknown…like Cher or the Devil…you get the picture…LAST NAME DOESN'T MATTER!)

I will give you who have never heard this story before a little back ground but not much cause I do want you to be surprised. Anyhow, Yugi, Malik, and Ryou always hang out with each other and have been friends since they were like babies or something. Bakura, Atem, and Marik are the same, but Marik is a little distant from them because of his home life situation, which will be revealed later. Oh, and they all live in this place called Roswell (duh) New Mexico, famous for aliens, *wink wink* and that is all that I'm revealing at this point. Hope you enjoy the ride!


	2. Chapter 1: The Incident and The Savior

Chapter One: The Incident and The Savior

"Order up on table five!" The cook called from the semi concealed kitchen. Yugi turned his head away from the table he had been serving after jotting down their orders to dash to the newly prepared dishes behind the diner counter. It was on of those busy afternoons in the Shuttle Stop diner where being a waiter was not one of the most rewarding things in the world, especially if your family owned the diner and you had to work there for squat. Yugi held in an annoyed sigh as he deposited the two orders of overly greasy cheese burgers and French fries. There was only one perk of working for a fast food restaurant: it convinced one that you never wanted to eat at one.

Yugi went back behind the counter to wait for the next order to come up, and watched his friend Malik arrange some sticky sweet rolls atop a clear plastic container before placing back its cover. Malik's eyes shifted slightly around to glance at the diner atmosphere before turning his attention to Yugi.

"You know, Atem is staring at you again," He smiled a slightly wicked grin at Yugi.

"He is not," Yugi said defensively, taking a quick look for himself only to see Atem's strange red eyes changed their gaze back to Marik, who was sitting across from him in the both they were sharing.

"He is too, you scardy cat," Malik teased, moving to clean off the counter that had a few crumbs dirtying it.

"I'm not a scardy cat, meanie," Yugi said under his breath as he poked Malik in his side, causing Malik to jump slightly, "But I can see the way you were staring at Marik," Yugi decided to tease back.

Malik was too surprised from the poke to cover his blush over Yugi's comment. "Shut up," he growled embarrassingly. In order to make sure that they didn't stray too far from their work, Malik picked up a semi hot coffee jug and hurriedly went to refill some customers cups at a table further back into the diner. Yugi giggled lightly at his friend's attempt to escape the teasing game he had provoked.

He was so occupied with thoughts of their high school crushes that he didn't really notice the growing argument near the front of the diner, which had just begun to get physical. Two bulky men darted from their chairs and began to wrestle with one another, growling in frustration. Yugi turned to face them just in time to see the gun that they were fighting over, point at him, and fire.

The pain was an explosion that hit so fast, Yugi didn't even realize that he had fallen to the ground until he felt the air suddenly whoosh out of his body at the impact. He heard indistinct shouts and several voices call his name at once. But he only saw crimson eyes looking down at him when his vision cleared some, and instantly recognized them as _his_. Atem's.

"Look at me," Yugi heard his voice call, but was unable to say anything back, though he desperately wished to. His dark teal work shirt was ripped open exposing the wound in Yugi's abdomen. Atem's hand supported Yugi's head, so he could maintain eye contact with him. His other hand flattened over the gunshot wound, pressing enough to make Yugi gasp and cough softly.

And then there was warmth and comfort surrounding Yugi's body and mind. He could feel no more pain, only the haze that had overtaken him…

And then he was back, staring into Atem's eyes, that were frantic and uncharacteristically frightened. Yugi watched as he grasped a nearby ketchup bottle and broke it against the counter, spilling its contents over Yugi's stomach before standing shakily and saying:

"You got scared and tripped when you saw the gun, you spilled ketchup and that's all that happened," It was all that Atem was able to say before Marik pulled on him roughly, practically throwing him out of the establishment.

Moments later Malik was at his side, asking questions and babbling something that Yugi couldn't hear as he lay there trying to figure out what happened, why there was no more pain or why he was even still alive. But all his mind would let him do was focus on that one subject he spent most days trying to convince himself not to think about:

Yami Atem…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

OMG…I wrote that in like ten minutes….

So, what do you think? Should I continue? Have I caught your curiosity enough to want to know what happens next chapter?

I HOPE SO!!!

Review, and I shall reveal more!

Love you all,

IcyBlue


	3. Chapter 2: The Secret

Chapter Two: The Secret

Yugi sat in the diner, now only two hours later, feeling like he had been awake for weeks. He had to keep explaining what had happened, first to his father, then to his distraught mother, then to a police deputy, and then to the Sheriff Kaiba himself! What an exhausting day it had been…and as he sat in front of the Sheriff, Yugi could tell that the rest of the week was going to be just as hectic.

"So, there was an altercation in the diner today while you were on site?" Kaiba half asked, half affirmed the statement as he squinted over his deputy's scrawled hand writing.

"Yes," Yugi sighed, "Right there near the front door," Yugi gestured in that direction.

"And the gun was pointed toward you, so when it went off, as I understand, you got frightened and spilled ketchup all over yourself?" Kaiba looked a little disapprovingly at Yugi with his ice blue eyes.

Yugi winced at the lie but said, "Yep, that's me, scaring myself witless…" He shook his head. Had this whole day been different, and he had actually spilled ketchup on himself, it would have been a hundred times more believable. Yugi had to be the most awkward being on the planet.

"Is it really necessary to question him any further on this matter?" Yugi's father interjected finally, thinking it a little ridiculous that his son had been asked the same things at least three times.

Seto Kaiba looked at Solomon. "I'm sorry to trouble you about this, but the deputy is new, so I had to recheck your son's story just to get it straight. It isn't as if this happens everyday in Roswell…" He trailed off apologetically.

"Understood Sheriff, but now can Yugi go to his room? He hasn't had a moment of peace since this all started." Allison, Yugi's mother, grasped her son's shoulder firmly, directing him to the back door of the diner that led to the stairs that connected the restaurant to their home above it.

"I think that would be best…we still have some work to do down here though, Allison, so we will be staying a bit longer, sorry for the inconvenience," Seto took off his gray cowboy hat with the emblem of his station with the police and inclined his head toward the tired family.

"That's perfectly fine, Kaiba, take all the time you need…" Solomon said his goodbyes, and that was the last that Yugi saw as he trod up the stairs to his room. His double bed had never looked so inviting…he didn't even bother with taking his clothes off, knowing he could shower and change in the morning before school. The whole ordeal with almost dying really took it out of him he noticed…and had he the energy, his mind would have surely been going a hundred miles an hour, but as it was, he could barley keep his eyes open.

Yugi figured that this whole great big mess would be there tomorrow, when he hadn't been almost killed and then saved by some magical unknown power that Atem had…

Of course, that meant that Atem wasn't going to get away with not explaining what had really happened that day….

XXXXXXXXXX

Atem leaned against the pillar in the hallway of Roswell Central High school, his posture tense as he listened to Marik rant about the day before.

"That was royally stupid, you know that Atem?" His violet eyes flashed. "Why did you do it? There were so many witnesses, what if someone had seen-"

"Look, I wasn't thinking, alright? He was dying and no one saw-" Atem tried to defend himself.

"I don't care that he was hurt! He might have been just fine if we had called the hospital, and another thing, how can you trust him so much? You've hardly spoken one word to him since second grade-" Marik continued to chastise Atem, and he had had enough.

"I know what I did was dangerous to us all, but I know that we can trust him…I know we can…" Marik saw that Atem was not paying attention to him anymore, but had locked gazes with Yugi Motou, the cause of their current predicament.

Marik rolled his eyes. "Whatever, fearless leader. (AN: this is just Marik's nickname for Atem, it doesn't really mean anything.) Just remember, you are not alone in this, you have to think about me and Bakura as well." Marik clapped his hand on Atem's shoulder before turning and leaving to get to his first class.

Atem could see the confusion and disarray in Yugi's eyes, but he pulled away as soon as the first bell rang, rushing to his first class, math; one of the only classes that he did not have with Yugi.

XXXXXXXXXXX

At third period, Advanced Biology, Atem came in late for some reason. Yugi vaguely wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Atem was his lab partner and he had to sit next to him.

"So, Mr. Yami had finally decided to join us," Mr. Richard sarcastically remarked. Atem seemed to shrink at the comment, but overcame it quickly.

Atem tried to act nonchalant in Yugi's presence, even going so far as to lightly chew the end of his pencil as he sat down beside him.

"Now we can begin the lesson on DNA, starting with examining human hemoglobin. Take the toothpick and swab the inside of your partner's cheek-" The teacher began until Atem interrupted him.

"Um, excuse me, but can I have a bathroom pass?" he asked, placing the pencil onto the desk before he spoke.

"Quite sloppy today, aren't we Mr. Yami?" Mr. R sighed and waved Atem forward, reaching for the pass.

Atem left in a flash. "Now, to continue, take the sample of the cheek cells and look at them under the microscope…"

Yugi didn't listen to the rest of what the teacher had to say, having done this assignment previously many times. He swabbed his own cheek since his partner had conveniently disappeared. Under the scope, he saw what he expected: red blood cells. He pursed his lips and eyed the pencil that Atem had left behind. Deciding to test it, he took the writing utensil and took a sample from the tip of it, placing the new glass sheet under the eye piece of the scope.

What he saw was confusing as it was somehow expected. Instead of round red blood cells, Yugi saw that these cells were green and squarish. This set him on edge. What in the hell was going on here? And, more importantly, who was Atem Yami?

About fifteen minutes after he had gone to the 'bathroom' and the lab work was over, Atem returned. This only solidified Yugi's resolve. He WAS going to speak to Atem after this class was over.

XXXXXX

"We need to talk," Yugi, in a bold move, had grabbed Atem's arm just as the bell rang to signal the class's end. Atem's eyes never met Yugi's, but he nodded his head in agreement and let Yugi led him out of the biology classroom and into the empty music room at the end of the hall.

But just as Yugi was about to speak, Mokuba Kaiba came suddenly through the doors.

"Hey Yugi," He said, smiley as ever. "What are you doing in here, lunch is about to start?"

"Oh, hey Mokuba. Atem and I just have some Biology lab work to do together, and needed a quiet place to study," Yugi wanted to slap himself with how easy it was becoming for him to lie on the spot. But hey, at least this time it was semi-true. Yugi had some definite biology questions to ask Atem.

Looking a little unconvinced, Mokuba just smiled grimly and thought, _At least I didn't catch them in the eraser room _(AN: this is like the make-out or sex room at the high school)_._ "Alright, Yugi, talk to you later, See ya Atem," He waved to the spiky haired teen behind Yugi before leaving.

Yugi sighed, and wished that there was a lock on the music room door. Turning to Atem, he had his eyes fixed with a small determination. "There are about three things I need to ask you about, and I need real answers, so I can get this all straight in my mind," When Atem didn't respond he added, "Okay?"

Atem nodded this time.

"Alright one, in Biology, after you went to the bathroom, you left your pencil so I used it to do the test that the teacher was talking about. Care to explain why your cells look different then mine?"

"Maybe a bad sample?" Atem asked lamely.

"Then we can just go back to the lab and get a better sample and prove me wrong, right?"

Atem sighed. "No, it wouldn't be any different…" He raked a hand through his hair.

"Let's just skip that. Two: What happened yesterday?" Yugi asked firmly.

"You were in shock, you spilled ketchup-"

"I don't want that stupid story I had to feed to everyone, even the police like fifty times yesterday. SOMETHING else happened, or else this wouldn't be here," Yugi lifted up his shirt, revealing what he had discovered that morning.

Atem's eyes widened at the hand print mark on Yugi's stomach. It was a shimmering gold color, sticking out like a jewel on Yugi's pale skin.

"You did something, you healed me and left this behind. Now I can't lie to everyone I know effectively if I have the wrong information, and it's obvious that you don't want anyone to know that you were involved in whatever happened yesterday. Just be honest with me…please?" His eyes pierced Atem's with the intensity that they always had when ever they had looked at each other for any reason.

"Fine," Atem conceded. "We aren't from around here, first off,"

"We?" Yugi asked.

"Me, Marik, and Bakura,"

"Well, where are you from?"

Atem pointed up.

"Up north?" Yugi's eyebrows furrowed.

Atem shook his head and pointed higher.

_Somehow I don't think he means that he's from the arctic circle…But that means… _Yugi's eyes widened in realization.

"You're all…aliens?"

"Well, I prefer the term 'not of this world' but yeah," Atem smiled softly.

"Like ET phone home?" Yugi blurted without thinking.

Atem chuckled at his out burst. "I guess, but that would imply that we knew how to contact our 'home'," He raised his fingers into quotation marks at the last word.

Yugi shook his head. _This can't be real…I won't believe this…_

"You know Atem, um, I'm going to be late for my history class, so, um," Yugi picked up his pack that he had dropped earlier and started rushing to the door, desperately trying to leave before things got any weirder.

But just as he was about to push open the door, Atem stopped him by holding onto the handle over Yugi's hand. Yugi tried not to notice the contact and didn't look into Atem's eyes.

"Yugi," he said, completely open with his feelings of desperation and fear, "You can't tell anyone about this, not Malik, not Ryou, not anyone, or it would put you, them, and us in danger. Yugi _please._" Yugi finally met his eyes. "I'm putting my life in your hands." He said the last part softly, letting Yugi's hand go and moving so that he could leave. And with one last stare into Atem's eyes, he did.

XXXXXXXXXXXX


	4. Chapter 3: The Problem and the Plan

Author: Okay…This is bad… *Looks around room and at the two men in black suits with sunglasses on* Um…I'm innocent? *Struggles with handcuffs, trying to get away*

The Suits: *Glare and Crack Knuckles*

Author: ALRIGHT ALREADY! I know that was stupid, writing two chapters using material that wasn't mine! HERE'S THE FREAKING DISCLAIMER:

I do not (yet) own Yu-Gi-Oh characters or the Roswell storyline, or any lines taken from it. I may also use some music later on, which is also not mine. Oh, and I'm not getting money from this. (bribes don't count, right? *hears the click of a gun* JUST KIDDING! Heheh…)

And this disclaimer applies to the rest of the story as well, got it? I don't like repeating my self!

ANYWAY, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!

Chapter Three: The Problem and The Plan (Part One)

It had been too much for him. Yugi left the music room feeling more confused and frightened then he had ever been in his life. The rest of the day went by in a flash as he thought about the crush that he and Malik had on Atem and Marik. How was it that they, the two weirdest teens in this small town of Roswell, had found what was likely to be the only aliens on the planet? The only thing that could make this all worse was if Ryou had a crush on Bakura, but Yugi had his suspicions about that. Ryou would never tell either Yugi or Malik about that sort of thing, though, he had always been a rather introvert person…

Yugi took a huge sigh. It had to have been the fifteenth one that hour alone.

"Something bugging you?" Mokuba asked as he walked Yugi home.

Yugi looked at Mokuba in a sideways glance, silently thanking his classmate for taking him to the arcade afterschool for a few hours. Everyone else seemed to have something more important to do. It had given Yugi the sense of normalcy that he craved after the last two days' chaos. Yugi saw his back porch up ahead in the gathering darkness of the twilight.

"No, I'm good. Just a rough two days is all," Yugi replied, beginning to feel less and less bad about lying to people about what had happened. He was getting good at it too, but Malik had seemed like he had his doubts with Yugi's story. Malik had been getting increasingly annoyed at Yugi over the past school day… It made Yugi frown.

"Sorry, stupid question. I heard from my dad about the diner and all." Mokuba scratched the back of his head nervously, and bit his lip, not really knowing what to say.

"It's alright, Mokuba. I'm almost over it, promise. Just got some frazzled nerves to deal with, that's all." Yugi shook his head and chuckled softly. Boy, what he wouldn't give for that to be the only thing that was out of whack at the moment. They had reached his door. "Thanks for walking me home. My parents could give you a lift to your house if you wanted."

"No, I'm good walking home by myself. But hey, did you want to go with me to the annual crash site festival?" Mokuba asked, fidgeting a little.

"Um…I would, but I'm already going with Malik and Ryou. You could come with us if you wanted." _Did Mokuba just ask me out? Never thought he liked me…_

Mokuba's downtrodden expression suddenly burst into a bright smile. "That would be cool! Sorry if I'm a little over excited, my soccer friends are all heading down to the next city over, but my dad doesn't want me to go with them without a chaperone. Ugh." He said the last part with distain.

Yugi laughed. "Must suck being the Sheriff's son."

Mokuba laughed along. "Yeah, but no one will mess with me, they think that he'll hear about it and write them up for community service or something."

Yugi laughed harder, but then quieted after to stifle a yawn. _Damn, being almost killed and then finding out you were saved by an alien really takes it out of you…_ Yugi fought the urge to laugh bitterly at that thought.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," Yugi said, and reached up to get the key that was hidden on the top of the porch archway.

"Good by- Hey, what's that?" Mokuba pointed at Yugi's exposed lower stomach.

Yugi looked down just in time to see the hand print peeking from underneath his black short sleeved tee. He pulled it down quickly and said, "It's nothing, I'll see you later. Night,"

Mokuba furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion and denial. "Sure. Later," He waved awkwardly, and left, wondering what it was that made Yugi so sneaky that day. _I have to get a better story of what happened from Dad when I get home…_

Yugi sighed as he watched Mokuba leave and entered his house. Tonight, he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep, he could all but taste the insomnia coming on. After entering his room, he went to the window that led to a private balcony-like patio which was almost a continuation of his bedroom. He sat on a lounge chair that was covered by a soft blanket, before lying back and putting his hands behind his head, gazing at the stars and thinking.

About twenty minutes later, he heard someone call from over the edge of the brick half wall that outlined his upstairs patio.

"Yugi!" It was a male voice, calling up in a yelling whisper, trying not to catch anyone but Yugi's attention. Yugi peered over the edge and saw that it was Atem, the one at the forefront of all of Yugi's spindling thoughts.

Atem saw him look down and asked, "Can we talk?"

Yugi considered this for a few moments, not saying anything. Atem was an alien, but a least he seemed to be a friendly one. Yugi wanted to smack himself for that thought, _Yeah, that's what the Trojans thought, 'It's a big scary wooden horse, but the Romans gave it to us in a friendly way, let's let it in our home so it can destroy us in our sleep!' _Yugi bit his cheek softly, conceding that if Atem wanted to harm him, he wouldn't have saved him in the diner, spilling his biggest secret. Yugi nodded down to Atem and let him into the empty diner.

Atem stood near the glass door entrance to the diner and didn't move closer to Yugi as Yugi put about two yards distance between them.

"I just wanted to come here and say that I'm sorry for this entire mess that I've put you in. Really, I should have told you this earlier, I've thought about it before…I know that none of this makes sense right now, I can't imagine what you must be feeling…" Atem finished off slowly, not taking his eyes off Yugi.

"Just about as surprised and shocked as you would be if someone told you that vampires and werewolves were real and proved it…" Yugi said nervously.

Atem's eyes widened in mock shock, "Who told you about them?"

Yugi looked as if he was about to faint.

Atem chuckled at his expense, "Sorry I couldn't resist…" After seeing Yugi's angry expression he cleared his throat and looked at his feet.

"You're infuriating, you know that?" Yugi sighed aggressively.

"So people have told me…" Atem met Yugi's eyes again and let out another chuckle.

"What is it this time? You gonna tell me that I'm going to turn green and have a head that looks like a balloon, with big black beady eyes?" Yugi said with fast half-sarcasm.

Atem shook his head, still smiling, "No, I'm done playing around with you. I just can't stop picturing you with ice cream cake all over your face and shirt…"

"What?" Yugi paused for a few seconds, thinking. "OH! My birthday party…Malik and Joey teamed up and decided it be fun to play a joke on me- Wait." Yugi stopped searching his memories for a moment. "That was like eleven years ago, I didn't know you and I haven't had ice cream cake since…How did you know?"

Atem looked sheepish. "Um…when I healed you, I kinda made this connection between our minds…and some of your memories suck with me, like that time you were so mad about not being able to have your first ice cream cake…"

"Connection…" Yugi's eyes swirled in thought.

"Yeah. And I was wondering if I could make it go the other way." Atem looked to Yugi in question.

"The other way?"

"I mean show you my memories…" Atem moved closer to Yugi, so that he was right in front of him. Yugi stood still. "If its alright with you?"

Yugi nodded, not trusting his voice. Atem raised his hand slowly, trying not to startle Yugi. "I have to touch you…"

Yugi nodded once more, his eyes not leaving Atem's. Atem put his hands on either side of Yugi's head, gently cupping his face. Nothing happened at first, but then Yugi withheld a gasp as images formed in his mind's eye. He saw what Atem saw on his first day of school, running with Bakura and seeing Yugi for the first time. The first time he saw his adoptive parents, the first fuzzy images of Marik and Bakura. And he saw himself through Atem's eyes. Felt the same feelings as he did. Strangely enough, Atem only saw Yugi as handsome and a great friend and found Atem's hesitation in all of the visions, afraid that Yugi might not except him for who or what he was.

The images ceased, and Atem stood there in front of him, with his hands still cupping his face.

"Did it work?" Atem's voice asked, straining slightly.

The only thing Yugi could do was nod, staring at Atem with new eyes, a new understanding of the whole situation.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After Atem had left, clarity filled Yugi's mind. He was no longer scared of the situation, but rather more infatuated with Atem than ever. The next day, upon seeing him in the hall, the feelings only increased. Of course, he didn't fail to notice the glares that Bakura and Marik shot him. And the fact that Malik was still not talking to him, choosing to vent on poor Ryou instead.

So, his life had done a few back flips in the past few days. He had almost died. Atem and his friends were aliens. And Atem felt more for him then he could ever had hoped for.

He wondered if the good outweighed the bad in this little predicament, but decided that he was going to enjoy this strange high that his late night rendezvous with Atem had given him. The first half of the day went well, his classes passing quicker than they ever had before on a Friday. After fourth period, Yugi walked down the hall to meet Ryou and Malik a their chosen lunch table of the year, and found that Ryou was actually looking for him instead.

"Hey, Yugi," Ryou waved him over to an empty classroom, and Yugi met him inside, wondering what this could be about.

"Hey," Yugi dropped his pack onto an empty desk and faced Ryou. "Something wrong, Ryou?" He asked, noticing that Ryou was a little tense.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," He started. "Malik has been very worried, if not a little over the top, about you since Wednesday,"

Yugi sighed, "I know he has, but nothing's wrong, actually, I'm kind of feeling good today," Yugi smiled, softly.

"So, Malik is just being Malik. Nothing bad is happening?" Ryou looked to Yugi, who affirmed this statement with a nod. "Good. Now I can ignore his tirade of paranoia."

Yugi laughed. "I'm sorry you have to listen to that Ryou. I know how bad he can get. Everyone's been a little jumpy since that gunman appeared in the diner, but really, it's all-" Yugi was cut off when the door opened somewhat roughly, revealing the deputy, named Arkana, and the principal with the school councilor.

"Yugi Motou?" Arkana asked, firmly, a tone that demanded an answer.

"Yes?" Yugi gulped.

"Come with us, the Sheriff wants to see you now," Arkana opened the door wider and stepped to the side to allow Yugi through.

_Oh shit…_ Yugi didn't even want to see the look on Ryou's face. He just picked up his pack and followed the deputy and school officials down the hall.

XXXXXX

Yugi was led to one of the two conference rooms in the administration office that were used for visitors and on rare occasions, parent teacher conferences. Kaiba was there, his hat laying next to him on the polished cherry wood table, along with some manila folders and legal forms in front of him. His blue eyes fell on Yugi as the boy entered and stood in front of the table. There was no chair for him to rest in, even though if there had been one he would not have used it.

Yugi hoped that this would be quick, an affirmation of what had transpired at his home. He knew that his prayers would probably go unanswered.

"So, we meet again, Yugi," Seto began. Yugi, not knowing what to say, stayed silent.

"Well, let's get right to it then," Seto pulled one of the folders from the stack and searched through it for a moment, "I'm sorry I have to show you these," He pulled two photos from the pile and lay them in front of Yugi.

Yugi's eyes widened. Both picture were black and white, of a man on a metal table, with a sheet over his waist that covered all the way down to his knees.

"This is from an autopsy report, the man was found dead with no apparent cause of death other than that mark on his chest," Seto explained.

Yugi wished that he didn't recognize that handprint, and tried to hold in his notice that he had seen that mark before.

"Mokuba said that he saw a similar mark on you're abdomen," Yugi looked into Seto's eyes, feigning as much innocence as he could.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Yugi replied, eyes shifting back to the dead man, noticing the date it was taken: 1959.

"Well, just to be sure…Could you show me your stomach, Yugi?" Seto's voice may have been soft but there was no room for argument in his tone.

So, Yugi set his pack down on the table, and just as slowly, turned to the Sheriff and grabbed the hem of his shirt. He paused, but then slowly pulled up, carefully, and stopped just underneath his third rib, waiting for a response. When he received none, he panicked and searched Kaiba's expression before finally looking down, seeing that the mark had miraculously disappeared.

Taking Yugi's confusion into account, Seto remarked, "The print disappeared from the corpse as well,"

Yugi pulled his shirt back down and sighed silently.

"The pieces of this crime are not fitting together, Yugi," The sheriff continued, "We found no bullet hole on any surface or wall of the diner, even though we've heard from countless witnesses that there was a shot fired, in your direction, Yugi. But there was a lot of arguments over what happened next, mainly, over who was in the diner,"

Yugi tilted his head to the side, wondering what he meant by this.

"Many say that there was another student there that looked an awful lot like you," Seto paused to take a breath, gauging Yugi's reaction, "Tell me, what do you know of Atem Yami?"

Yugi furrowed his eye brows and bit his lip in mock thought, "Atem? I know he goes to school with me…Why?" Yugi asked back.

"Many say that he was at the diner that day," Kaiba said.

"I don't remember him being there…"

"You sure?" Seto asked.

Yugi half-smiled, "Sheriff, I think I would have remembered if someone who looked like me was at the diner that day," Yugi looked around the room for a moment before meeting Seto's eyes again, "Is that all? I would really like to be finished with all of this, sir,"

Seto looked rueful for a moment, then said, "That's fine Yugi, but just remember," He paused and waited for Yugi to look to him, "You can tell me anything, just call if you're ever in trouble, okay?"

Yugi nodded, "I know, you and my dad have been friends for a long time, thank you," With that said, he gathered his things and left the office, hearing the bell for lunch to end. He had never been more grateful that fifth period, the only one without Ryou or Malik in his class, was starting.

_Just freaking fantastic…one more thing to worry about…Kaiba, why do you have to be so good at your job? _Yugi groaned in his mind.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Atem had been in a somewhat pleasant mood all morning. He had some proof that Yugi was not going to just run to the authorities or the nearest phone and rat the aliens of Roswell out. It also got Marik and Bakura off his back on the subject for a while, so now all he had to worry about was school work and the whole scene last night with Yugi. Yugi's eyes had been so alluring, so deep and his lips had never seemed more tempting then in that moment, with their faces so near one another…

Atem blinked a few times to clear his head. NO, he was not going to think about that! At least, not until the whole scenario with the random gunman had played itself out completely.

So, it didn't startle him right away when he first saw Yugi after school, figuring that he only had a new question to ask about Atem or his brother and friend. But the look on Yugi's face changed that.

"Atem," He panted as he dragged Atem into the nearest empty room, the arts department. "We need to talk," Yugi said, still breathless.

"I got that," Atem replied, "Just calm down a little,"

Yugi heaved a huge breath before saying, "Kaiba suspects you had something to do with the gunman incident,"

"What?" Atem asked, not understanding.

"Well, yesterday, I walked home with Mokuba, you know, his son? And then he caught sight of the mark on my stomach, and apparently told Seto," Yugi rushed the words out. "And Seto called me in today and told me to show him my stomach, after he showed me some picture that had a body with the same kind of mark and-"

"Slow down! I get that you're upset, but I need to hear all that you're saying," Atem placed a hand on Yugi shoulder to steady him.

Yugi heaved a huge breath, calming himself, "The Sheriff suspects you. He knows you were at the diner that day, and he thinks you did something…funny to me."

Atem felt his stomach sink to his knees, but he didn't show his nausea to Yugi, "Alright…What happened when he called you in? Why did he call you in?"

"As I said, Mokuba saw the handprint on my stomach, and told his father. Kaiba called me in at lunch and showed me pictures of a corpse with the same mark on it…the thing that really gets me is…that photo from the autopsy was dated 1959. You weren't alive then, were you?" Yugi tried to keep his growing hysteria to a minimum.

"No, none of us was," Atem said, absentmindedly buried under an ocean of thoughts. "I need to speak with Marik and Bakura about this…Yugi," When Atem addressed him, Yugi locked into a gaze with him, hanging on his very word.

"We might have to leave," Atem said, "In fact we probably will have to leave tonight,"

Yugi felt as if he were about to faint.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was one hour prior to the beginning of the crash site festival, and Yugi sat on his bed, wearing his alien costume of the year: a black outfit with strange makeup and blue skin paint on his face.

And he couldn't believe it.

Atem was out there right now, with Bakura and Marik, preparing to flee town at light-speed (every pun intended). The three of them agreed that while the annual party was going on, the police force (mainly Seto) would be preoccupied with drunken teenagers and over enthusiasts.

And since Yugi had been identified by Seto as 'one of their aides in crime', he could not help them leave without attracting the Sheriff's unwanted attention. So he would go to the party and pretend like he was having the best night of his high school life, while the three aliens ran to the nearest safe place they could think of. Everything was just peachy. Surely there was some way that they could stay…..

Yugi's head snapped to his bedroom door as it banged open, revealing a highly pissed Malik. He stomped over to Yugi like a 300 pound trucker, shoving a finger in Yugi's face.

"Alright, I want to know exactly what is going on, and no more lies." Malik stated, bluntly.

Yugi sighed. "Malik, I don't think you want to know, I don't know if you could handle it…"

"Oh please, Yugi. I've been your friend for 12 years. I think I can deal with whatever you dish out." Malik rolled his eyes.

Yugi looked at him, seeing the determination in his eyes, and knew that there was no way he could not tell Malik without losing a giant chunk of his trust.

_Still, _He thought warily, _Some how I know I'm going to regret this…_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Malik ran, literally screaming at the top of his lungs, out of Yugi's house/diner.

"MALIK!" Yugi ran after him, trying to calm the hysterics of his best but worrisome friend.

_That could have gone better,_ Yugi almost laughed out loud, cynically.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

After collecting Marik and Bakura into the silver Lexis that had been given to the brothers on Christmas, Atem started to head out of town.

That was until two people decided to run out in front of his car. He stopped and recognized the pair to be Yugi and Malik. The three in the car shared a look after they saw Yugi chasing after Malik yelling, "MALIK, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU DAMN DRAMA QUEEN!"

All three had been withholding their laughter until they saw Yugi literally tackle Malik to the ground, effectively pinning him there. But with the windows rolled up, they heard nothing else that Yugi said to Malik before he was released, looking much calmer than before. Then he saw the car still stalling behind them and pointed it out to Yugi, who ran to the vehicle so quickly he almost tripped.

Atem rolled down the window as he approached. Yugi stood in front of the car, breathless for the third time in Atem's presence.

"Don't go," Yugi said simply.

Bakura snorted indignantly. "And stay here so the government can poke and prod us till we finally keel over? Rather not, thanks,"

"We can't exactly stay now that you and Atem have managed to spill the beans to the Sheriff," Marik added, rolling his eyes when he received glares from Atem and Yugi.

"I think I have a plan, so that his suspicion will follow someone else," Yugi began, "I don't want you guys to have to haul ass out of Roswell just because one of you saved my life,"

Bakura and Marik looked to each other before Bakura shrugged and Marik relented, "So, what do we do, o great master mind?" in a highly sarcastic tone.

Yugi smirked, almost worthy of Atem and said, "I think you guys might enjoy this…"


	5. Chapter 4: The Plan Part Two

Chapter Four: The Plan Part Two

"I'm going to kill Yugi," Malik growled, standing in front of his red Honda in the parking lot of the festival site.

"Yeah, yeah, you said that like five times already," Bakura rolled his eyes, wondering how this could be so difficult. All Malik had to do was die! Well… pretend to…but if he didn't stop complaining, he really was going to be a corpse when Yugi returned!

"I know! Doesn't change how much I hate having to do this." Malik relented, turning to Bakura, "Look, I know this car doesn't seem like much, but it is my mom's, so be gentle, will you?" He shoved the keys into Bakura's hand.

"I will," Bakura tried to keep the sarcasm from entering into his tone. To get through this absurd idea of Yugi's, (at least he thought it was an abomination of a plan) Malik would have to be in full cooperation in order for this to work, and the only thing that he seemed capable of was complaining and annoying the hell out of Bakura. 'I can't believe that I'm desperate enough to go through with this...to even talk to this crybaby...' (AN: when you think about it, I think he thinks the same of everyone he meets...that or 'Prepare to face the ultimate doom'...LOL)

Bakura climbed behind the wheel of Malik's car a backed up, waiting for the signal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugi wondered around the festival grounds, which were small compared to most other events in Roswell, and that was saying something. He fidgeted with his costume and looked around, trying to find his friends and Atem. He saw and waved to Ryou and Mokuba, who were standing near the funnel cake stand. At least one part of the plan was right: Seto was walking around the grounds, peering warily at every shadow. Yugi watched as the sheriff spotted Atem, standing in the crowd that gathered at the foot of the concert stage. Second stage: perfectly executed. 'Just keep your eyes away from the man behind the curtain, ladies and gents,' Yugi thought, shaking his head at the allusion. Once he finalized that Seto was effectively distracted but close enough to the parking lot, Yugi gave the signal to Marik, who was lurking somewhere near.

Yugi sighed, 'This better freaking work, I hate losing people I...LIKE a lot...' He blushed in spite of his correction.

Two minutes went by, and Yugi heard Malik scream. The sheriff had moved close enough to the entrance of the festival to hear, and his head immediately jerked to in that direction, reaching for his gun and running off. Considering that it was his friend that Yugi had heard screaming, hi figured it would be all right to watch this part of his plan play out. He ran to the parking lot and saw Malik on the ground, right in front of the car that Bakura was driving. "MALIK!!" Yugi screamed and ran toward the scene. Yugi caught up with the Sheriff and they both paused to watch a dark figure bent over Malik place a hand over his chest before pulling away. The figure saw Yugi and Seto and ran off in the other direction.

Bakura got out of the car, looking hysterical. "HOLY SHIT! MALIK!! I swear officer, I didn't see him, he came out of no where..." Bakura looked at the Sheriff with tears in his eyes. He hugged himself and looked toward the body on the ground, covered in desert dust, unmoving and silent.

Suddenly, Malik gasped, trying to sit up and groaned. Seto came directly to his side, carefully looking him over. Malik's low-neck line revealed a golden handprint on his skin, and Malik looked at it before looking at Seto saying, "What the hell just happened? All I did was come to the lot to look for Honda and then..." He looked around him, scared. Seto calmly watched him, looking only at the mark on his chest before touching it softly with his fingertips. Malik followed his line of vision and said, "What is that? Am I sick or something? Please, somebody tell me what's going on!" Yugi finally rushed to Malik's side to 'comfort' him. He had to keep his smile hidden.

Seto stood, beside himself with confusion. He had watched that teen with undivided attention. There was no way that Atem could have gotten here before him. He looked to his fingers and rubbed them together. They were sticky and...they had gold PAINT on them. Seto fought the urge to growl angrily at the people in front of them. He ran off in search of the masquerading savior, remembering what his costume had looked like. He searched wildly and found nothing until he spotted the same outfit on a person playing at the throwing game stand. Once he reached the unsuspecting suspect, he grabbed his shoulder and forced them to face him. He gasped silently. The person who he had turned around was...

Mokuba.

"Hey dad," Mokuba said, warily, seeing the look in his father's eyes. "You okay?" Seto shook his head. No, Mokuba wasn't who he was looking for; he had been at practice the day of the shooting.

"I'm fine," Seto replied gruffly, turning away to look for someone else who he felt had something to do with this whole mess. He found Atem leaning against a fence this time, listening to the band play from the back. Seto walked straight to him, pinning him to the fence. Atem looked surprised, and a little fearful.

"You thought you could fool me, did you?" Seto shoved his fingers in Atem's face, "GOLD PAINT? How stupid do you think I am?" Seto glared into Atem's crimson eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Atem acted scared out of his mind.

"I'm onto you Yami." Seto continued. "You were there that day at the diner, weren't you? Why didn't you come forward and say anything?" Seto demanded.

"I was scared. Those guys had a GUN. I ran like everyone else!" Atem pleaded, this time with no faked emotions. "What do you want from me?"

"I want the TRUTH!" Seto yelled above the music.

"I just told you what happened! Are you arresting me, Sheriff?" Atem looked him directly in his eyes.

Seto snarled. "No, your dad would have you out before the night was through," Seto released Atem, pointing at him, "Just know that I am watching you, Yami. Remember that." Seto turned on his heel and walked back into the crowd, leaving Atem to collect himself. Atem couldn't help himself, he had to smile softly at Seto's anger, knowing that although the sheriff had discovered that the hand print was fake, he now had nothing to base his theories on. Atem had 'obviously' had no part in the event in the parking lot.

Having disposed of the costume that looked extraordinarily like Mokuba's, Marik came up behind him. "Did he figure it out?"

"Yes, he found out that it was a fake mark." Atem said, "But since he didn't catch you and I was too far away to have done anything, the sheriff has nothing to go on."

Marik scoffed. "This isn't exactly a good thing. He's going to watch us like a vulture for this little stunt we pulled,"

"But at least we don't have to leave," Atem breathed. He spotted Yugi next to Bakura, who was talking to Ryou about the 'accident'. Yugi saw him staring and smiled, giving him a thumb's up. Atem returned it, feeling slightly giddy.

"Why stay here?" Marik interrupted his moment with Yugi, "It's only going to go down from this point...the sheriff suspects something, two people have been let in on our secret...its just a disaster waiting to happen." Marik's eyes narrowed, "Especially with your feelings toward that science nerd."

Atem shook his head at Marik's annoyed remarks. "Its the only thing we can do. It would be too suspicious to leave now."

Marik sighed. He knew what Atem was saying was true, but any chance that he could get out of Roswell was a welcome one.

"Besides," Atem continued, "We know that there has to be at least one more of us out there, and older too,"

"That's why we should be searching for them!" Marik groaned.

"No." Atem said with finality. "All we know that he or she is a murderer. This mystery alien could only want to kill us or something worse,"

"It's a chance I'm willing to take," Marik seethed. "Anything to find out more about who we are and why we were placed Earth."

Atem sighed. "You don't think that Bakura and I want to know the same things, have the same questions? We're just going to have to be patient and wait for something to happen. It's bound to where we live."

Marik didn't even try to disagree with that last statement, knowing that only in Roswell three aliens would risk themselves to save a human.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX


End file.
